the night staring at the ceiling, planning. The dark circles under her eyes were hidden by concealer, and h

hly showered and impeccably dressed. Beside him sat a man

ir. He steepled his fingers, a smirk playing on

ather chairs facing the desk and sat down, cr

ross the desk. "Mrs. Nieves, my client wishes to expedite this

crisp, the legal jargon dense, but the num

"you are not entitled to any of Mr. Nieves' assets accrued during th

yes scanned the clauses. No al

r you three months of temporary support as a gesture of goodwi

. You haven't worked in a decade. What are you going to do, g

ably. "The terms are generou

man she had cooked for, the man whose clothes she had laid out every morning, the man

this," she said

ed smiling.

the folder. "I don't want your three months

said, his voice hardening. "The

to that had made a knot of unease tighten in her stomach. At the time, she'd dismissed it as an odd angle, a trick of the light. Now, she un

to look. The color d

hteen, wearing a dress that was too mature for her. And Conrad was in the backgro

u get that?"

ganizing the family albums last year. I though

had gone pale. "Mr

ed, but his jaw was clenched

of your relationship with my sister... well. The board of Nieves Corp might not appreciate the

ad roared, slamming his fist o

"You took ten years of my life. You humiliated me. Yo

wyer, who gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of his hea

want?" Conr

se," Est

blinked

t as a 'fixer-upper' and abandoned after one weekend. "Transfer the deed to my name. Add a co

laughter. "That piece of shit? It's a money

Estel

the agreement, signing his name with an aggressive slash. "Take it. It's wo

d picked up the folder. She didn't look at him as she walked out of

as a broken, useless